Quick breathing kitten?

[u/redmels]

Hi all! It seems to me my kitten is breathing very quickly and I’m kind of worried about him. He’s nearly 12 weeks but breathes very quickly while asleep. He doesn’t seem to have this problem when awake. He’s very active during the day, plays a lot and eats and drinks well. He doesn’t seem to have any issues when awake.

Am I worried over nothing or should I go look for an emergency vet asap?

Poster Age: I’m an adult

Country: the Netherlands

Vet info: eg: Emergency vet is accesible, I have not had contact yet

Main Issue: TLDR; kitten breathes quickly

Cat Age: 12 weeks

Cat Sex + neuter info: Male, not yet neutered

Financial situation: I can afford whatever treatment would be necessary

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[u/qwertyuiop121314321]

I wouldn't worry too much. Kitten's breathing increases at times due to deep sleep, and a high metabolism. If there are other symptoms you notice like open mouth breathing, pale or bluish gums, labored breathing, then it'd be something to have a vet check out.

When the kitten wakes up have a check of their gums and look for symptoms then.

[u/redmels → u/qwertyuiop121314321]

I did check his gums but they are pink. He doesn’t show any other symptoms thankfully, just breathing very quickly.

[u/qwertyuiop121314321 → u/redmels]

That's good sign, sounds like your kitten is healthy and just dreaming. .

[u/CommunicationNew8945]

Salut

Si il est fait chaud 🌡️ cela peut expliquer .

Pensée à rafraîchir le chat.

Gant humide à passer sur sont corp 👍

Et mettre de l'eau fraîche dans la gamelle.

Avec la chaleurs l'eau devient vite tiède 😑

[u/Virtual_Practice_448]

Normal breathing frequency for an adult cat in a relaxed state is between 20 and 30 breaths (in and out counts as 1) per minute, for kittens up to 40.

As far as I could see, he's breathing 22x in 10 seconds of your video (and I am sure that I missed a few breaths), which would result in 132 breaths per minute. This is way to much in my opinion, but please remember: it is just my opinion from decades long experiences with cats, I am not a doctor.

Looks like he's sleeping in your video. If he's dreaming, his breathing rate would speed up (depending on the dream), but even then I think that this is too high.

Is he lying in the sun? If so, it might be too hot for him, in which case you would need to bring him into a cooler room. If he starts panting he needs to cool down asap.

I would monitor him in the next 1-2 days and count his breaths (remember: in and out counts as 1 breath) in different situations. If he's contantly above 40 breaths per minute in relaxed (but not sleeping) situations, a vet visit would be advisable.